You are a commodity trader and receive an order for 40,000MT rice to be shipped to Indonesia. You charter a bulk carrier and ship the rice. The ship arrives in Indonesia but there is a strike by harbor workers, so the ship has demurrage and waits at the port for two weeks until the strike is settled. During this time the rice in the ship’s hold expands bursting the hold covers. You have steamed rice. What happened to the rice and why?
The rice that was stored in the ship’s hold was steamed because it was exposed to moist air rising from the sea. Since the ship took longer than the expected time, the safety of the dry rice could no longer be guaranteed. The measures that might have been taken probably allowed the rice to remain dry and in good condition for the allocated time. However, the rice had to remain packed in the hold for an extra two weeks. The conditions of the sea could not allow for the rice to remain dry and in good condition. The moist sea currents and the warm environment must have cooked the rice.
The rice had probably not been stored in airtight containers since the moisture was able to enter into the bags of rice. When moist rice is heated, it expands as it takes in the water. This explains why the ship’s hold expanded and burst. Since the rice was already steamed, the only thing that could be done is to take precautions the next time shipping is done to ensure that the rice remains cool and dry throughout (Jolly, Tso, & Wong, 2000). However, if the rice could be used immediately before spoiling, it could help save the company from incurring huge losses.
Your company is a premier pork processing and convenience foods manufacturer in the USA. To take advantage of the large population and plentiful raw material (pigs) availability, you decide to establish an operation in China. Since Chinese food and US food are quite different you must establish new products that appeal to the Chinese customers. How do you go about creating new products? What factors must you consider?
For the premier pork processing and convenience foods manufacturing company to come up with new products that would be appealing to the Chinese customers, the company must go through certain steps towards new product development. The first stage would be to generate ideas for new products (Khurana & Rosenthal, 1998). This could be obtained using SWOT analysis and looking at the market and consumer trends. Corporate spies could also spy around for ideas.
After the ideas have been generated, they would have to be screened. This involves making several considerations to determine whether the idea would be worth allocating resources. This would need the firm to consider whether the target market would benefit from the new product and to also consider the size and growth of the target market. The third stage would be the concept development and testing stage. This involves making several considerations such as the expected reaction of the consumers. The cost of producing it would also need to be considered.
The other step would be business analysis. This includes the estimation of the likely selling price and estimating the sales volume expected. The other step would be to do market testing and beta testing. This involves producing it and selling it in a test market. The other thing is to make technical implementation and finally, to commercialize the new product.
What are three examples of internal influences on consumer behavior? How do these influences affect marketing strategies? How might marketers use consumers’ values to position their product(s) or service(s)?
Three examples of internal factors affecting consumer behavior include personal needs and motives, self-image (self-esteem), and experience (Armstrong, 1991). A need may be considered as a state of lack of a particular thing. The motive is the state of an individual while considering satisfying the need. A hungry person may feel the need to satisfy it and hence search for a restaurant. The restaurant should position itself in a way as to satisfy the person’s need. If it successfully does it, then the person would want to come back again. If not, the person would have a negative attitude towards the restaurant.
Self-esteem could be a factor because the consumer might consider enhancing his or her self-esteem if he or she feels accepted. The tourism and hospitality industry should consider providing high levels of personal services to cater to these individuals. These services make customers feel very special and important. Experience is another factor that influences consumers’ behavior. In the tourism and hospitality industry, first impressions usually matter a lot.
When a consumer visits an area (a hotel, for example) for the first time, what the consumer experiences might determine whether he or she would be a return customer or a one-time customer. Companies should strive to make the customer’s first time as pleasant as possible. Other companies have done this by ensuring that every customer entering the parking lot is greeted with a smile and afterward, they are also attended to as they leave.
What are three examples of external influences that impact consumers? How do these influences affect marketing strategies? How might marketers use cultural influences to position their product(s) or service(s)?
Several external influences can have an impact on consumers’ behavior. They include the socioeconomic level, culture, and reference groups. The socioeconomic level would determine the amount that the consumer is willing to dispose of. The reference groups affect marketing strategies in that the service providers need to understand the needs of the group to gain favor from them. Cultures vary and determine the values, ideas, and attitudes held by the people.
Cultures may determine certain aspects of the target population and these include the purchase decisions, travel behaviors, and other such considerations (Khosla, 2010). The tourism and hospitality industry may need to understand such factors to be successful and competitive. Companies that provide vacations should know the cultures of the target population. Some people (such as in the United States) prefer taking a short vacation of probably a week or less. The French, on the other hand, may go for a whole month. Companies may need to focus on providing mini or getaway vacations for those seeking to go away for short periods.
Another consideration that should be made has to do with the subcultures that exist. These include the Asians, African Americans, the youth, and various other groups. All these groups may have varying needs and it is up to the companies to understand this and strategize on how to advertise their products effectively. For example, it has been determined that the fast-food chains mainly focus on the youth. This is because they are the main individuals that influence the decision on where to dine.
What is a reference group? What reference group(s) do you belong to? What impact do these groups have on your purchasing decisions?
A reference group is a group of individuals who dictate certain behaviors. An individual identifies him or herself with a particular group and purposes to meet the standards of the group even during purchasing decisions. I believe that I belong to the comparative reference group. This is because I usually compare what my friends have with what I have to determine what I lack and need to buy next.
This has a great influence on the consumers of the tourism and hospitality industry. Individuals may be influenced either directly or indirectly. There are three reference groups. They include the comparative, normative, and status groups. These groups may influence purchasing decisions since individuals compare their feelings and thoughts with those of the others in the group (Ehrenreich, 1989).
Even after consuming a product, an individual would have to consult the group to compare his perceptions against those of his friends. These perceptions may greatly influence the purchasing behavior and the repeat purchase behavior of consumers.
References
Armstrong, J. (1991). Prediction of consumer behavior by experts and novices. Journal of Consumer Research, 18(1), 251-256.
Ehrenreich, B. (1989). Fear of falling, the inner life of the middle class. New York: Harper Collins.
Jolly, P., Tso, C., & Wong, S. (2000). Simulation and measurement on the full-load performance of a refrigeration system in shipping container. International Journal of Refrigeration, 23(2), 112-126.
Khosla, S. (2010). Consumer psychology: The essence of marketing. International Journal of Educational Administration, 2(2), 220-230.
Khurana, A., & Rosenthal, S. (1998). Towards holistic front ends in new product development. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 15(1), 57-75.